Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus said Yahweh, “Go, and buy a potter’s earthen bottle, and take some of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests;
- BSB This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests,
- NKJV Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests.
- NASB This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests.
- NLT This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God tells Jeremiah to buy a clay flask and gather elders and priests as witnesses. A solemn sign-act is about to be performed.
Overview
The Lord commands a new symbolic action involving a potter's earthenware bottle and respected witnesses. The presence of elders and senior priests lends public weight to the message. This sets the stage for a dramatic enacted prophecy of irreversible judgment, building on the potter imagery of chapter 18.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ezek 8:11–12And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
- Lam 4:2The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
- Isa 30:14And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
- Num 11:16And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
- Jer 18:2–4Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
- 1 Chr 24:4–6And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.
- Jer 19:10–11Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,
- 2 Kgs 19:2And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
- 2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
- Matt 26:3Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
- Ezek 9:6Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
- Jer 26:17Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
- Matt 27:41–42Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
- Jer 32:14Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
- Acts 4:5–6And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
- Matt 27:1When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 19:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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